Taking your prayers digital
If you are like the majority of Christian women, you pray at least once a day. And that’s a good thing. Being in the habit of prayer is a lifestyle discipline of epic proportions. It can change your day, your marriage, your children, the future, and your own legacy. In essence, it makes us more like Jesus and tenders our hearts toward what breaks his heart—leaving us different.
From the earliest disciples and throughout the centuries, Christ followers have depended on prayer and noted its prominent place in Christianity. James, the half-brother of Jesus was fondly known as Camel Knees because of the time he spent in prayer in that prostrate position. One of the final instructions he penned was to pray because the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (James 5:16).
In the twentieth century, George Mueller shows us how to incorporate such prayer into daily life. Mueller recorded his prayers in journals. He kept a record of the needs, requests, desires, and dreams he brought to the Lord, (along with how and when God answered him). In his lifetime of keeping records, he boasts of having over fifty thousand specific answered prayers. Thousands of these he confessed were answered on the very day he made the request.
Keeping a record of your prayers remains a faith-building endeavor. My problem is that sometimes I am without my journal. And when I attempt any significant time of prayer (longer than the distance from home to Wal-Mart), I can’t seem to stay focused long or remember who and what to pray for.
Thankfully, you and I live in a digital age with tools and resources at our fingertips that those who walked the planet before us could not even comprehend. Our phones can offer great assistance in taking our prayers digital.
How to Use Your Phone to Take Your Prayers Digital
Basically, there are opportunities for individual resources to aid us in our prayer lives, and there are group opportunities. Where does a person unfamiliar with prayer in cyberspace begin?
I’m so glad you asked.
Group Resources for Taking Your Prayers Digital
Most things are more fun and engaging when shared with another person whether in person or not. At least this is one of the greatest lessons gleaned from Covid-19. Just to offer a starting place, check out the resources below:
This is an organized site that allows you to start or join a prayer chain that exclusively exists online. It’s easy to navigate and lets you determine quickly what you want to do there. Do you have a request? Do you want to join a team already in existence? Start a new group? Suppose you need resources in addition to prayer, like counseling, they’ve got it covered.
This is a hub for finding like-minded people or those with similar interests to yours. Note – this is not a Christian site. Be sure to examine the groups you can join to determine that the group meets your expectations and shares your religious beliefs. Can’t find what you are looking for (within the over 700 prayer groups already meeting)? Meetup also allows you to start your own group.
In 2022, Zoom needs little introduction. But I would be remiss if I failed to mention it as a digital avenue for prayer. Creating an account and scheduling a :30 min meeting is absolutely free. It’s a great avenue for meeting others to pray together. You have likely used it for work, church meetings or gatherings, parent meetings for schools, and family gatherings. Why not consider using it for prayer?
This organization focuses prayer on the United States, its leadership, and national issues. It also offers guidance and opportunities to pray for other needs on a global scale. Be aware, it leans conservative politically. The site is very well organized, active, and offers lots of people to pray for (regardless of political or religious leanings).
Bible.com or the YouVersion app –
YouVersion is one of the most recognized and utilized Bible apps on the planet. One of the newer features of the app is the ability to post prayer requests and to pray for the requests of others. Within the app are hundreds of thousands, even millions of users, but you are not praying for all of these. Similar to FB (without the social), you can connect with people you already know and become “friends.” It is within this circle you can share requests and pray for theirs. It’s a great option because it is both useful with others and alone. To pray alongside others, simply click on your “prayer list” and start praying for the needs your “friends” have shared. There is also a place to record how God answers these requests.
Groups such as She Prays (our favorite) housed on Facebook are plentiful. She Prays is a private group with over 500 members who offer prayer requests, comments and support, and prayer within the membership. Other groups function in a similar manner, like Christian Women’s Prayer and Praise Group with over 25,000 members. These types of options are great for connecting on a deeper level than you would get on social media. It allows people to support one another when they might not know each other. She Prays is one of my favorite connections.
Individual Resources for Taking Your Prayers Digital
Individual resources for taking my own prayers digital are where I have experienced the most development in my own practice of prayer. Remember when I mentioned George Mueller and his journalkeeping? I am a huge fan of journaling. In fact, I produce these because I am a believer in recording your history with God. We are so apt to forget, it’s difficult to remember to remember. Journaling or keeping a written record makes this essential more likely to occur.
My only hiccup with journaling is that my prayer journals are not always WITH ME. My phone is. Fortunately, in our generation, there are several options for moving your journaling efforts in prayer to a digital format.
As mentioned above, the YouVersion app is useful for both group praying and your individual prayers. Within the app you can decide if you want your recorded requests shared with others (your friends) or to keep things private. In this way, you can keep an ongoing record of what you are asking and how God responds to your needs. It’s free and you can set a timer to remind you to pray. Although I receive zero compensation from YouVersion, as a content partner, I am a personal fan and cheerleader.
Echo is a prayer app you can download from the App Store. There is a free version and a paid version. Personally, this has become my favorite app for taking my prayers digital. One reason is that it is simple to use. You can either pray or record a new request. It also allows you to title your prayers which makes them easy to shuffle through if I’m looking for something I have already recorded.
The other aspect I appreciate is that no longer do I need to riffle through sticky notes or pages in a book to get through all the people and issues I want to pray over. Echo gives me a randomized selection of what I have entered. There is also a section of more global requests, like praying for Bible translators, or people who have not yet heard to gospel message to gain access and be saved. I might not have those types of petitions on my agenda and this format allows me to expand my prayer beyond my own concerns.
If you are inclined, this app allows you to connect with other people, upload pictures, and a host of other niceties in the paid version.
I became familiar with Abide from their reading plans on YouVersion. This app is very helpful in getting the user into the habit of prayer and meditation. It’s a very soothing resource but also filled with existing prayers covering a plethora of topics.
This app is available for free and works much like my beloved Echo app. It was created to help the user develop the habit of prayer. Toward that aim, the app offers a way of record keeping for your own prayers, giving reminders, and helping you track God’s responses to your prayers.
Daily Bible Inspirations is similar to what you might find on YouVersion just on a smaller scale and limited to the KJV. If you like sharing verses on social media, this app contains that added feature. The element I find of most interest is the housed digital journal. You will find a journal prompt or question with space to add your thoughts and comments. And it’s pretty.
These few suggestions only scratch the surface of what is possible when taking your prayers digital. One thing to remember is that prayer is a universal phenomenon, not limited to Biblical Christianity. When searching for an app that will help you in your relationship with the Lord, or a group to join, make sure to read the About or Purpose statements rather than just settling for functionality.
My Personal Move to take My Prayers Digital
Personally, moving my prayer life to a digital format has deepened and strengthened my prayers. It has allowed me the freedom of organization, jogs my memory of who and what to pray for, and gives me space to incorporate scripture easily (cutting and pasting) into my prayers. I can also screenshot anything I might want to find quickly or pull up in line at the grocery store. It’s also made it easy to do throughout the day because it’s on my phone.
I made the digital jump a few years ago and will never go back. What about you? Are you ready to take your prayers digital? And if, like me, you have already made the digital leap, what resources are you using? I can’t wait to find out!
Did You Know?
For the one who feels invisible, largely passed over, and insignificant – Cheri has created a resource for you. Grab your copy of Can You See Me, Now? Good news for the lonely, left out, and less than and join the Strange Readers Café. We will be going through the book together beginning Oct. 3 until December 16 – just in time for Christmas.
Don’t forget to check out the latest FREE reading plan available from YouVersion!
Have you received my FREE gift to you? Get 3 resources to help you experience more of God in your everyday life. It’s filled with practical helps for living out what really matters.
WAIT! THERE’S MORE.
If you would like to become a part of the private FB group, She Prays, we would love to have you. Click the image to join.
You can meet Cheri on the She Yearns blog for more truth-saturated, Gospel-centered encouragement like this:
Lord Jesus,
Lord,
Dear Jesus,
reason is you and me and every other reader before us and hereafter. God saw fit to place these specific prayers in the Bible so that we might benefit. I am not wise enough or Christlike enough to know how to pray for myself or others. What a gift to preserve these specific needs for us as well as the purpose in relying on God to meet them.
